The Many Colours of Spanish Wells

It was a long windy sail up from Rock Sound to Spanish Wells and we were beat by the time we got there.  We anchored out that first night but have since taken a mooring ball in the harbour.  What we have found is a unique  and very colourful fishing town loaded with  character.   The homes come in all shapes and sizes and in every colour imaginable.  Here is just an example...m

A pretty side street.

We would never get away with painting our homes these colours, but here it works.  The more colourful the better.

Golf carts are the main source of transportation.   Someone got creative with this one!

This dolphin lead us into the harbour.

We've met an awsome couple, on Island Pearl.  They are super fun and like to kill stuff.....I mean forage for food.  

I take pictures while the guys look for food.

The beach is amazing. 

One of the many fishing boats in the harbour. 

Cambridge Cay to Eleuthra

Often we make plans and change them on the fly.  Like the day we left George Town, headed for Black Point, and landed in Staniel Cay instead.  And like now....we didn't plan on coming to Eleuthra but here we are.

The day before yesterday we made the short hop up to Cambridge Cay from Staniel Cay and we had another picture perfect day.  We anchored in front of Bell Island in a designated anchorage.  However, given that it's a private island, we chose to respect the owners privacy by staying well offshore.  Oh my it was gorgeous though and made a fabulous backdrop to our already magnificent surroundings.   It didn't matter that we could only look and not touch.

Once we knew our anchor was holding well we set out exploring the Cambridge Cay area by dinghy.   That's when we found "The Aquarium" that we've heard so much about.  Of course we had to snorkel it.  The beach we discovered over that way was stunning as well.  It was definitely a "wow" kinda day.

Yesterday the weather was just right to cross Exuma Sound over to Eleuthra so we changed our plans, again, and headed out at first light.  It was an epic sail!  I can tell you it just doesn't get much better.  The wind and waves, and .... heck ... all the planets in the solar system were all lined up giving us superb sailing conditions.  We anchored in Rock Sound around 4:00 pm. 

Our loose plan is to stay here for a day or two and head up to Governor's Harbour when the conditions are right.  From there to Spanish Wells but...

More about that next time.

This was our anchorage by day. ..

This what it looked like at night

Cambridge Cay 

The Aquarium 

I'm ready for my close up!

Rain?  No problem.   Just sail around it.

Down wind.

Farewell George Town

Now I have to admit, I wasn't sure, in the beginning, if I was going to like George Town with all the activities and tons of boats but guess what? .... I did.....a lot...and, like many others, we'll be back. 

There truly is no place like it.  Picture for a moment a community were everyone was  there for each other.  If anyone was in need of anything there would always be someone more than willing to help.  No one would ever be expected to pay back but instead pay it forward. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, that's the cruising community of George Town and it's like a breath of fresh air. Wouldn't it be nice if it were like that everywhere?

We left yesterday just shy of ten weeks later.  It's sad to leave our new (and some old) friends and all the fun activities but we also look forward to what lay ahead.  We have some really cool plans and interesting places to visit before we head back to Ontario.  Among them are Cambridge Cay, Spanish Wells, Harbour Island, and the Abaco Cays.  

Today we are kicking back in one of our favorite places Staniel Cay (by the way, contrary to what I said in the last post, we bypassed Black Point)  It's a stellar day with perfect weather for exploring and snorkeling.  It just doesn't get much better than this.  Tomorrow it's off to Cambridge Cay but.....

More about that next time.

Sunset overlooking hole2

Art classes at the beach

The art teacher

Chat n Chill beach

Arial view of Chat n Chill 

On our way back ... Staniel Cay 

Fish On

At 0700 this morning we pulled up the anchor.  Leaving George Town in our wake, we left through Conch Cut with dolphins leading the way.  Black Point is our destination today as we start bumping our way up the Exuma chain. 

As usual we had our fishing lines out but, if you've been following, you know the only kind of fish we catch are the frozen variety that you find in the supermarket.  Today, however, we actually caught a small tuna.  I landed the poor thing onto the swim platform then into the cockpit.  We tried to put it out of it's misery by pouring rum down it's throat but that made it worse as it flipped, flapped and vibrated all over the place.  I don't know who was more traumatized. ...the fish or me.  Of course it eventually expired.

We had to get out one of my cookbooks to get instructions on how to fillet this creature.  Together Harley and I worked on it and in the end I think we did a pretty good job; not bad for our first attempt.   By the time we were finished with whole ordeal the cockpit looked like a crime scene.  We spent the next hour cleaning up the blood that had splattered everywhere!

The line is out again but I honestly hope we don't catch another one. 

That's all for now.  We expect to arrive in Black Point around 5 pm today but ...

More about that next time.

Another Big Blow!

If all I wrote about was bad weather everyone would think we had nothing but bad weather!   I discovered that when I did a blog 7 years ago.  Much of the feedback I got was, "too bad the weather was so bad!"  The thing is, the good days outnumber the bad by a long shot but nobody wants to hear about another glorious day in paradise.  So .... having said that. ..... here we are sitting through another big blow! 

It hit yesterday with a bang and, as usual at the start of a blow, boats were dragging all over the place.  Everyone in the harbour was tuned into channel 68 and it was a buzz with reports of boats on the move.  The winds are still very strong and have been ever since.  I'm guessing there were many people sleeping in their cockpits last night.

Thankfully, this time, we are tied to a mooring ball in hurricane hole 2 so we are fine but my thoughts are with all the boats on the outside.  I can't help but recall the events of the last big system that is forever etched in my memory bank.  If you remember Folly dragged all over the anchorage and, believe me, it wasn't pretty.  You may have noticed, I'm still a bit traumatized over that.  LOL.

Looks like by tomorrow the worst will be over but the wind will continue to blow strong for a while after that.   We may not get out of George Town as soon as we thought but as soon as we can we will be heading north. 

But.... More about that next time.

Nice and protected in Hole 2

We like Hole 2 so much we bought the T Shirt.  H2O stands for hole 2  occupant. ..lol

If I can get a picture of the conditions in the main anchorage I will post it here.

You Win Some You Lose Some

So here we are, back in George Town, all settled in and back in the groove.  The trip and the flight over from Florida went smoothly.  It was wonderful to come back and find Folly just as we left her.  A big thanks goes out to Pat and Lynn and all our friends in Hole 2 who kept an eye on her in our absence.

The George Town Cruising Regatta is in full swing right now and yesterday was the "around the island" race.  Harley and Pat were fortunate enough to be invited to crew on Triad and it was a great day.  It became even better when Triad came in first!  Believe it or not, they crossed the line 1 hr. and 3 min. ahead of the second place boat, came in first in class, and first overall.  This will mean nothing to our non-racing friends ..... but Triad has a PHRF rating of -30!  Well done!

We left the awards ceremony in great spirits but, due to much carelessness on my part,  I ruined the mood by dropping my prescription glasses in the water.  Now, if this was the first time I've done this it might have been excusable but sadly it is not.  The first time I lost them I was exiting Adamant 1 after happy hour one evening.  It was twilight and the bottom was just barely visible.  Harley jumped in and saved the day.   This time ..... not a chance.  It was dark and, besides that, the water at the dinghy dock is gross!

First thing this morning, determined to retrieve them, I headed into town.  Understandably, Harley had no sympathy for me.  I got myself into this mess so it was up to me to get myself out of it.  I donned my mask and snorkel and after a few silent prayers I jumped into that icky water.  (Anyone who has been to the dinghy dock in Lake Victoria knows what I mean.)  It took a few tries but I got them!  I also have a few scrapes on my backside from brushing up against all the growth on the underside of the dock!  Yuk!  I will staple my glasses to my head if it means I will never have to go through that again. 

Today is the last day of Regatta so tonight promisses to be a festive one.  That will be it for us as far as George Town is concerned.   It's time to move on.  From here we will start heading north to Abaco on the first weather window.  We plan to spend our last month or so there...

...but...more about that. ...next time.

Our Island Hopper Plane

Triad crossing the finish line

Triad at anchor

The happy crew!  First place!

The sun setting at Chat n Chill during closing ceremonies.